Multipitch Atlas

Strada del Sole

Nösslachwand, Längenfeld (Au) · Ötztal · Austria

Bail with caveatsBolting confidence: high

The best-known long route at Nösslach: steep, well-travelled gneiss slabs low down, a zigzag through the big roof zone in the middle, and more slab to finish. Two pitches of about 6b to 6b+, the rest around 6a.

The painted stone that marks the start of Strada del Sole at the foot of the NösslachwandPhoto: sissssou · CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo

The painted stone that marks the start of Strada del Sole at the foot of the NösslachwandPhoto: sissssou · CC BY-SA 3.0
Hardest pitch
6b+
Pitches
7
Length
200 m
Approach
15 min
Aspect
SW
South-west-facing
Rope
1×60 m
walk-off

The route

Overview

Strada del Sole starts in the middle of the Nösslach sport crag and climbs seven pitches to the top of the wall. bergsteigen.com calls it the "best of Nösslachwand". The first pitches are steep, polished slabs on small edges; higher up the line crosses the big overhanging roof zone in a clever zigzag; a slab pitch leads to the route book at the top. The hardest pitches are the second and the sixth. Sources grade it between 6b and 6b+ (UIAA 7), with about 6a+ obligatory.

The climbing

Pitch by pitch

PitchGradeLengthNotes
P16a35 mSteep slabs on small edges. Climbers Paradise gives 5b.
P26b+20 mA steep, smooth pillar; one of the two hard pitches. Climbers Paradise gives 6b.
P36a+28 mUp into the roof zone, with a roof just before the belay.
P46a20 mJuggy blocks beyond the vertical that look a little doubtful. A traverse: watch the rope drag and look after the second. Climbers Paradise gives 5c.
P56a20 mIncludes one of the few vegetated passages, with dwarf pine and earth. Climbers Paradise gives 5c.
P66b25 mThe second hard pitch.
P76a47 mA long, well-cleaned slab pitch to the route book. Climbers Paradise gives 5c.

Getting there

Approach

To the parking

Leave the Inn valley motorway at the Ötztal exit and drive about 18 km up the valley, through Umhausen, to the hamlet of Au just before Längenfeld. Use the signed car park by the river Ötztaler Ache, opposite the small sewage works and chapel; Climbers Paradise asks you not to park at the recycling yard or by the chapel. By public transport: train to Ötztal-Bahnhof, then the valley bus to Au.

On foot · about 15 min

10 to 15 min. From the car park go through the cycle-path underpass to the sewage works on the other side of the road, then left along the hiking path towards the Wiesle inn for a short way. At the junction (barrier) turn right to the Nösslachwand sport crag. The start is in the slab zone right of the classic single pitch "Weißer Riese", marked by a yellow painted stone fixed to the rock with the route name on it.

Map of the walk-in

  • Crag
  • Parking

Loading map

The point marks the crag, not the exact start of the route.

Coordinates · crag

47.10828, 10.95413

Parking

47.10560, 10.95314

Signed car park by the Ötztaler Ache at Au

Point from bergsteigen.com touren/klettern/strada-del-sole-noesslachwand (marker labelled approximate)

For your phone or watch

Download GPX

Contains the route point and parking. Opens in most mapping apps and GPS watches.

Points are compiled from published sources, with the precision stated above. They were not surveyed on the ground: check them against a current topo.

Getting down

Descent

On foot, 30 to 45 min. From the top follow traces horizontally along the edge of the wall and on narrow ledges to the left (north), past a small waterfall. At a group of trees go up a ramp to the right and back left to a tree with a white arrow; look for the path and signs of passage. Continue straight to the end of the wall, descend a short grassy gully, and pick up a path to the waymarked trail that leads back to the car park. Camptocamp adds that red marks on the trees show the way, and that if you reach a second route-book box you have gone too far.

Retreat

Bailing off the route

Bail with caveats

You can abseil from the lower belays, but a camptocamp contributor says the belays are not really intended for abseiling and are not linked above the fourth. Higher up the line zigzags through roofs, so abseils would be awkward and you would leave gear.

Retreat from
Most easily from belays 1 to 4.
Point of no return
Roughly the fourth belay: above it the belays are unlinked and the route traverses through the roof zone.
Carry
Maillons or old karabiners and cord for the belays. A doubled 60 m rope reaches on the 20 to 28 m pitches but not on the 35 m first pitch, so two ropes are safer.
Basis
Part stated, part inferredBelay rigging is stated on camptocamp; the rest is inferred from the pitch lengths and the line.

Partly inferred from the route facts

Safety

Hazards

  • The descent is partly exposed and bergsteigen.com calls it very dangerous in the wet.
  • Belays above the fourth are not linked and not set up for abseiling (camptocamp), so retreat from high up means leaving gear.
  • Some blocks on pitch 4 look doubtful.
  • The lower slabs are polished.

Sun and weather

Conditions

West to south-west facing, 1200 to 1370 m. bergsteigen.com gives May to October, Climbers Paradise June to September. The wall seeps: camptocamp says to leave it two days after rain. Both the climbing and the descent are bad when wet.

Usual season · May to Oct

Sun on the wall · SW-facing

Working out the sunlit hours for this month.

Sun on the wallDaylight, wall in shade● Usual season

Estimated from the wall's aspect only. Ignores surrounding terrain, gullies and the wall's exact shape. Clock times are local to the wall (Central European time), for the 15th of each month.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Mean daily high °C−025813171919161251
Mean daily low °C−10−8−4−1379961−5−9
Rain days 1 mm or more121215162022222115131313

● marks the usual climbing season. Averages for 1991-2020 at about 1267 m. Area climate from Open-Meteo reanalysis. Temperatures are adjusted to the height of the crag; rain comes from a grid cell of about 10 to 25 km, and summer highs on sea cliffs can read a few degrees low. The wall and valley can differ. Data: Open-Meteo, CC BY 4.0.

What to carry

Gear

14 quickdraws, a 60 m single or double rope and a helmet. Camptocamp suggests slings for the belays.

Checklist

Quickdraws
14
Rope
1×60 m (walk-off)
Helmet
One each
Maillons or spare karabiners
To leave behind if you retreat
Cord
Mentioned for retreat

Derived from the route data; check it against a current topo

From climbers

Reader reports

Reader reports are not being collected yet. Until they are, check a current topo and the local club or guidebook publisher for recent changes to Strada del Sole.

Worth knowing

Tips

  • Allow 2 h 30 to 3 h on the route.
  • Utopia (6c+, four pitches) is a harder start that joins Strada del Sole at its third belay.
  • The single-pitch sport crag at the base is useful for a warm-up or if the upper wall is seeping.

Open questions

Where sources disagree

  • Grade: UIAA 7 with 6+ obligatory (bergsteigen.com), 6b with 6b obligatory (Climbers Paradise), 6b+ with 6a obligatory (camptocamp). The card uses 6b+.
  • Pitch grades: camptocamp gives 6a, 6b+, 6a+, 6a, 6a, 6b, 6a; Climbers Paradise gives 5b, 6b, 6a+, 5c, 5c, 6b, 5c. The harder camptocamp set is used in the pitch list with the Climbers Paradise lengths.
  • Length: 200 m (bergsteigen.com) against 195 m (Climbers Paradise).
  • Aspect: south-west (bergsteigen.com, camptocamp) against west (Climbers Paradise).
  • Name: camptocamp spells it "Strada del sol".

Provenance

Sources

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Compiled from published sources and last verified October 2026. Bolts, anchors and access change. Climbing is dangerous and you are responsible for your own decisions: check a current topo and read the disclaimer.